2 Samuel 10:4 BSB — MannaFest

2 Samuel 10:4

So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

So Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.

KJV

Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.

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Commentary

3 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Shaved off the one half of their beards - The beard is held in high respect in the East: the possessor considers it his greatest ornament; often swears by it; and, in matters of great importance, pledges it. Nothing can be more secure than a pledge of this kind; its owner will redeem it at the hazard of his life. The beard was never cut off but in mourning, or as a sign of slavery.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Shaved - To fasten this is a reproach upon them, and to make them ridiculous and contemptible. Cut off, &c. - This was worse than the former, because the Israelites wore no breeches, and so their nakedness was hereby uncovered.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Besides, a knowledge of the extraordinary respect and value which has always been attached, and the gross insult that is implied in any indignity offered, to the beard in the East, will account for the shame which the deputies felt, and the determined spirit of revenge which burst out in all Israel on learning the outrage.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

16 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיִּקַּ֨ח	vai.yi.Kach	and he took	H3947 →
חָנ֜וּן	cha.Nun	Hanun	H2586 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
עַבְדֵ֣י	'av.Dei	[the] servants of	H5650 →
דָוִ֗ד	da.Vid	David	H1732 →
וַיְגַלַּח֙	vay.ga.Lach	and he shaved	H1548 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
חֲצִ֣י	cha.Tzi	<the> half of	H2677 →
זְקָנָ֔ם	ze.ka.Nam	beard their	H2206 →
וַיִּכְרֹ֧ת	vai.yikh.Rot	and he cut off	H3772 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
מַדְוֵיהֶ֛ם	mad.vei.Hem	robes their	H4063 →
בַּחֵ֖צִי	ba.Che.tzi	at the middle	H2677 →
עַ֣ד	'ad	to	H5704 →
שְׁתֽוֹתֵיהֶ֑ם	she.to.tei.Hem	buttocks their	H8357 →
וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֵֽם׃	Vay.sha.le.Chem	and he sent away them	H7971 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Jeremiah 41:5
eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their garments, and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, carrying grain offerings and frankincense for the house of the LORD.
leads to
- 1 Kings 16:24
  He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city there, calling it Samaria after the name of Shemer, who had owned the hill.
- Joshua 18:1
  Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them,
- 2 Kings 25:9
  He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
- Deuteronomy 14:1
  You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,
- Genesis 33:18
  After Jacob had come from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped just outside the city.
Through
Isaiah 20:4
so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame.
leads to
- Isaiah 19:4
  I will deliver the Egyptians into the hands of harsh masters, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.
Through
Isaiah 15:2
Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.
leads to
- Leviticus 21:5
  Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.
- Jeremiah 48:1
  Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and…

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01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 2 Samuel

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 2 Samuel